The family of an East High School student, tragically shot and killed near the school's premises in 2023, is taking legal action against Denver Public Schools (DPS) by filing a wrongful death lawsuit. The deceased student, Jose Luis Garcia-Bobadilla, was just 16 years old when he was murdered while sitting in his car outside East High. As reported by KDVR, the announcement of the lawsuit was made on Tuesday by the Barringer Law Firm, representing the Garcia-Bobadilla family.
The tragic incident that transpired on February 15, 2023, has since shone a spotlight on the broader issues of school safety and the responsibility school districts bear to protect their students. The lawsuit cites the Claire Davis School Safety Act, as mentioned by The Colorado Sun, stating that DPS failed to reasonably foresee and prevent such acts of violence, holding them liable in this matter. DPS now finds itself having to account for this grievous loss alongside past and current members of the Denver school board, who are also named defendants in the lawsuit.
Beyond the legal ramifications, the case has brought attention to the violence that students face in and around school environments. According to Denver7, a year after the shooting, Matthew Barringer, the family's attorney, hinted that a possible suspect in Luis' death may have been identified, but deflected inquiry to the Denver DA's office for more details.
Following the tragic incident and subsequent shootings, the school board decided to swiftly react and reverse its previous call to withdraw armed police from schools. Now, two School Resource Officers (SROs) have been appointed to East High. Nonetheless, a spokesperson for Denver Public Schools declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, and Board President Carrie Olson, who has been serving the board since 2017, echoed the same response, according to The Colorado Sun.
